Shipp: State's Republicans scrapping for poll position

A funny thing happened to Sonny Perdue on his way to picking up the Republican nomination for governor. Along came a fellow intent on destroying Perdue's campaign and damaging his reputation.

Bill

Shipp

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Cobb County Commission Chairman Bill Byrne, another GOP contender for governor, has set his sights on shooting down former Sen. Perdue long before the August primary.

In a debate in suburban Smyrna last week, Perdue almost flinched as Byrne ripped into him with a ferocity seldom seen in Republican circles -- or present-day Democratic ones either.

Speaking in a cutting, almost sneering voice and sporting on his lapel a Marine Corps emblem as big as a walnut, Byrne charged former state Sen. Perdue with trying to ''make life easier'' for 19 imprisoned felons, creating a ''catastrophic'' natural gas deregulation law, and -- brace yourself for this one -- twice supporting Bill Clinton for president. By the time the assault on Perdue was over, one could easily envision Vietnam vet Byrne as a Marine -- maybe in a barroom brawl in a foreign port with the military police arriving just in the nick of time.

The third candidate, State School Superintendent Linda Schrenko, hurled a few barbs at Perdue too. But she was Miz Nicely compared to the beastly Byrne.

Perdue, of course, tried to defend himself. He labeled as ''baloney'' assertions about his aid for convicts. He said Byrne told ''lies'' about his support of Clinton, and he defended his sponsorship of natural gas deregulation on the grounds of ''the American free-enterprise system.''

The former state senator from Bonaire -- and the presumed frontrunner for the nomination -- needs to beef up his defense a bit before the real campaign season begins. His tentative performance against Byrne may be causing GOP Chairman Ralph Reed and some other state party leaders to have second thoughts about anointing Perdue to carry their banner against the Democrats.

The next time these candidates convene for a forum, ex-Sen. Perdue will undoubtedly heave a few grenades at the record of Chairman Byrne.

This is an interesting trio of runners. None of the three has raised much money. Perdue and Byrne are virtually unknown outside their own communities and the inner sanctum of the Georgia Political Junkies Club.

Schrenko is famous -- or infamous -- throughout Georgia for continually bashing Gov. Roy Barnes for his education-reform initiatives, many of which she advocated in her first campaign for superintendent in 1994.

The other noteworthy characteristic of this group: All have extensive political records. You won't find any Guy Millner here, claiming to be a successful business executive determined to run state government just like a business.

These gubernatorial wannabes are career politicians. Perdue served in the state Senate with distinction. He was a hardworking and smart Democratic lawmaker who switched to the GOP following a series of open spats (at least one that nearly resulted in fisticuffs) with Senate Democratic Leader Charles Walker of Augusta.

Byrne has chaired the governing body of the third largest county in the state -- a suburban jurisdiction that, in some areas, is becoming urbanized and problem plagued. Depending on whom you talked to, Byrne has been a talented and energetic administrator -- or a boob too cozy with developers, a commissioner who bragged about cutting tax millage while property taxes rose on the back of reassessment.

Schrenko proved her political mettle long ago. Running on a shoestring budget, she beat the good-old-boy Democrats and shattered the glass ceiling as the first woman to hold a statewide constitutional office. Her tenure as super garners mixed reviews. She seldom attends State Board of Education meetings where important policy matters are decided. And her speeches are filled with contradictions on education. (At first, she called for more student testing. Now she says students are tested too much.)

During last week's forum, each candidate took obligatory shots at the Democratic incumbent. All characterized Gov. Barnes as dictatorial and unresponsive. Said Schrenko of Gov. Barnes: ''My first meeting with him -- I walked in, and he had his feet propped up on his desk with his soles facing toward me and a cigar hanging out of his mouth. And he reared back and said, 'Let me tell you how it's gonna be.' And from there on, it went downhill. So I haven't thought much of him since then.''

A spokesman for the governor said no such encounter ever occurred. No matter. The battle is on. If an underdog challenger has to use a bit of license to make a point, well, that's just part of the game, isn't it?

In years past, the Republicans have offered a more distinguished set of candidates for governor. They have certainly introduced Georgians to other contenders prepared to spend more money on their campaigns. But the Grand Old Party has rarely exhibited such a feisty and entertaining troupe of alternatives. Stand by for a lively, if not informative, campaign.

P.S.: Byrne's go-for-the-throat tactics against Perdue may inspire state Rep. Bob Irvin to try a similar approach to revive his lagging bid for the GOP Senate nomination against Congressman Saxby Chambliss.